AWA April 2013

4390km	Flavius	ABBA	Prayer Drops	URGENT Prayer
Manager	Paid	Birthday	Signature	SUNZ information

"Scripture Union sometimes fails to attract support because its chief work is not within church buildings, but instead in the 'secular' world."

Rev. John Evans 1975 at the Scripture Union Council (He later became General Secretary of SUNZ)

4390km

The above quote is taken from “No Ordinary Union, Centenary history of Scripture Union in New Zealand” by Peter Lineham. John went on to say, “This type of ministry is surely the great strength of Scripture Union, but there is good reason to also share its skills with local churches.” John passed away over Easter weekend this year and yet his summary of SUNZ's role has not changed.
A plane to Wellington, two planes to Invercargill and road trips to Hamilton, Awhitu Peninsula and Cambridge – 4390 km later. All this travel, other than to Cambridge (see manager item later), was towards the two spheres of influence that SUNZ works in. Read on for more details.

Flavius

I dressed up as Roman centurion, Flavius, to tell the Easter story at Awhitu District School. It was an incredible privilege to be allowed to share at this school as they don't have Bible in schools, but with the Principal's support and permission of the board local Christians are allowed to have Christmas and Easter assemblies.
As Flavius I asked the children to think about Easter with the following two questions in mind, “Fair or Unfair? and Fact or Fantasy?” The children were very well behaved and responsive for 1:30 pm on Thursday before the Easter long weekend. It was a long way to go for 25 minutes of story, but well worth it to be allowed to open the Bible and in particular share the Easter story in a thought provoking way.

ABBA

I was invited to share at a Dads and Sons Breakfast at Nawton District School. This event was put on by the church across the road, Nawton Community Church. It was very encouraging to be a part of this local church again serving the secular world. They had volunteers who came in and set up the hall, provided the breakfast and packed down at the end. The principal of the school was very happy to have this initiative in the school.
I had ten minutes to share. I used the acronym ABBA.
A – Action/Activity. Dads getting out there doing stuff with their sons.
B – Building stuff together. Whether it be making stuff in the garage or building Lego or playing card towers.
B – Books. Reading together and especially the Bible. Even if you don't believe it there are some really amazing stories in it.
A – All in this together. Sons to listen to their dads and dads to encourage their sons.

Prayer Drops

    This year was the tenth year of running WAY2GO events. The theme this year was “H2O, God's life-giving water” based on the passage from Isaiah 44:3-4. We had the usual hard work and fun as a staff. (See pictures below.) It was encouraging having many volunteers from various churches helping to make the day work and run workshops.
    In some ways the theme has been quite prophetic as it was chosen last year long before we found ourselves in one of the worst droughts in 60 years. The plenary sessions focused on children's ministry being part of the whole church and looking at ways that that may be better integrated as well as looking at innovative ways of allowing children to explore the Bible and the Living God as part of their lives.
    At the end of the day all present were encouraged to write a prayer on a water drop and come forward and place it on the water fall at the front. The prayers were very personal. The most encouraging moment for me was seeing a children's ministry leaders praying with his whole team just before they went into the final session of the day. What an investment!
staff1 (99K)

Prayer

Join me in giving thanks to God

For volunteers who gave of their time to help at WAY2GO training events.

For Children's ministry leaders who have returned to their churches and communities inspired and better equipped as a result of being part of WAY2GO

For financial provision. My support for the past financial year will be covered as a result of people responding to the need. Please give thanks with me for people who are able to support me in this way.

Please pray

Every Friday 9:10-9:40 am – I teach Bible in Schools at Glendowie Primary. Pray for the team I am part of as we open the Bible with the children each week.

Tue 9 to Fri 12 Apr – National Staff retreat at El Rancho, Waikanae. Pray that we will be refreshed and encouraged as we meet together.
19 to 22 Apr – SUPAkidz Camp training at Campbell Park, Mangawhai heads.
22 to 26 Apr – SUPAkidz Camp at Campbell Park, Mangawhai Heads. Time Travel is the theme.
Sun 28 Mar to Wed 1 May – on the South Island on holiday with family.
Thu 2 May – Starship hospital. I'm telling the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus.
Sat 18 May – Prayer breakfast at Remuera Baptist.

Please pray for SUPAkidz Camp

Please pray urgently for camp as our registrations of campers are very low. We also still need leaders. Camp is only two weeks away.

Tue 28 to Fri 31 May – Attending Leaders2Go Children's Ministry Conference in Sydney with all the SUNZ children and families team.
Sat 1 to Sun 2 Jun – Staying on to attend the Collide Conference in Sydney with the theme “Exploring Inter Generational Ministry.”

These prayer items are attached in a printable form to this email.

Manager

Gill has been managing James' waterpolo side and Chris' basketball side which has meant a really busy term. No that the term has ended she has taken on managing James' under water hockey side. As a result of the busyness we had to have the boys birthday parties a lot sooner than their actual birthdays. It was like running a mini-camp having twenty boys on bikes on the BMX track, then cycling home with them for a sleepover at our place.
With James away for Easter and the other boys competing in BMX that weekend, James invited the “Easter Bunny” to come around on Thursday morning so that they could hunt for Easter eggs together. Thomas was very impressed that James had this kind of persuasive ability with the “Easter Bunny.”

Check out the photos at ramsbottomfamilynz

Paid

I went to my first senior Easter camp. I got to play touch rugby for 70 minutes. The speaker was very funny. Mum and Dad wrote me letters which I was given on Sunday, which was very special. I talked so much on the bus home that my mates paid me to be quiet.

James 13

Birthday

Thomas and I went to the BMX track for our birthday party and then had a sleepover at our house. Mum made a cake that looked just like the start ramp at our home track. In the morning Dad made pancakes for all 20 of us. Our friends' parents thought Mum and Dad were brave!

Chris 10

Signatue

Chris and I went to Cambridge to compete in the National BMX Championships. We didn't manage to qualify for the World Championships but we had a great time. We also had a photo taken with Sarah Walker and got her signature on our race shirts.

Thomas 7